Croatia vs. Belgium 12/1/22 World Cup Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Croatia and Belgium face off on Thursday in a Group F World Cup soccer showdown at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

Croatia comes into this game sitting in 1st place in the group having picked up four points. Croatia opened up the World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Morocco. In the last game against Canada, though, they looked a lot more impressive, and they ended up winning 4-1. They only had 48 percent of the possession, but 10 shots on target. Andrej Kramaric scored in the 36th and 70th minutes. Croatia isn’t expected to make many changes heading into this game. If Luka Modrić gets another card he will be suspended, so if Croatia jumps out to a lead here, it wouldn’t be shocking if he heads to the bench early. 

On the other side of this matchup is Belgium, who sits in 3rd place in the group having picked up three points. In the first game of the World Cup, Belgium was able to beat World Cup 1-0. In the last game against Morocco, though, the offense struggled, and they ended up losing 2-0. Belgium had 67 percent of the possession and three shots on target. Midfielder Amadou Onana is suspended for this game, and the team will have to make a change. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench in the last game, but he can get the start in this game. He is dealing with a hamstring injury, but it’s expected he should be fit enough to start here. 

Croatia looked quite impressive in the last game against Canada, and they will continue the goal-scoring here. Belgium knows they need the win, which means more players pushed forward, but also means more chances for Croatia on the counterattack. Croatia is going to score a couple of goals here, and Croatia will secure the victory.